Darkest Risings (5 page)

“I
want you to come for me, Wilhemina.”

He
plunged deeper into her then retreated, her body drenching him with each
thrust. Once, twice, while his thumb danced a lazy circle over her clit, and
then she did what he asked, what he commanded. She came with a ferocity that
melted her bones and left her body a quivering mass.

She
watched, mesmerized, as he brought his hand up to his mouth and slowly licked
his finger.

“Mmm.
You taste like honey.”

Before
she could say a word, before the screeching heat of her blush could once again
hit her cheeks, his mouth slammed down on hers. He was thorough, rough, but
didn’t hurt her. He was in complete control, and he possessed her with every
stroke of his tongue, demanding her submission with every nip, every caress. At
that point, she was more than willing to salute him as commander and let him do
with her as he pleased because they hadn’t even had sex yet, and he’d already
given her the best mind-blowing orgasm of her life. Even she, who knew her body
better than anyone, had never been able to bring herself to the apex of that
kind of pleasure.

“Touch
me now, Wilhemina.”

And
just like that, her hands were no longer entrapped. She voraciously ran her
fingers over his shoulders, down to his abs, and back up to his chest. He was
all hard muscle just as she’d thought, and before she could stop herself, she
reached around to give his ass a squeeze. He growled, and she felt like
shouting “glory be” from the mountain tops because she’d been so right about
his ass. She’d definitely be able to bounce a quarter off it. Hell, she could
probably bounce a half-dollar off it.

He
reached for her hand and pushed it down to his cock.

“Touch
me here.”

“Oh
my.” She gasped.

He
was massive. When she cupped him, he pushed his hips against her. She thought
he might bust out of the leather pants at any moment. So he was blessed in
every way. Gorgeous. Perfect body. Well-endowed. But the whisper of fear slid
through her mind. He was not going to fit. Before her doubts had time to take
sufficient root in her brain, he carried her to a table in the back of the
room, one she hadn’t noticed until he set her on the edge of the cool wood
surface, and promptly kneeled between her thighs.

A
strangled cry escaped her lips when he buried his face between her legs. His
wicked tongue slid along her folds, dipped inside, then danced over her clit.
Her skin ached with need and burned with the passion he was stoking inside her.
He growled against her, the vibrations sending a jolt of fire scorching through
her.

“I
can’t wait to fuck this pretty little tight pussy of yours,” he mumbled in
between licks.

No
one had ever talked to her like that, and it had the complete opposite effect
on her she would have thought it would. Had anyone asked her what she’d say to
a man if he talked dirty to her, she would have probably responded that she’d
smack him senseless. But smacking Aldin was the furthest thing from her mind.
He made her feel naughty, uninhibited, wanton. The words coming from him only
proved to heighten her excitement.

She
tugged at the spiky locks of dark hair on top of his head, and urged him on
while she bucked her hips unashamedly against his face. But just as she was
about to come, she found herself face first on the desk. Aldin nudged her legs
wide, and pushed her skirt back up to her hips. She pressed her hot cheek
against the surface of the table as a cool breeze hit her other cheeks. She
whimpered when she heard the buttons popping open on his pants. She tried to
look at him, but he held her down with one hand splayed on her back.

He
bent over her. “Do you want me to fuck you, Wilhemina?”

His
breath was hot against her ear, and she shivered with need. At this point in
time, she wanted him any way she could have him. So taken over by the fire
burning inside her, everything was forgotten—her innocence, her inexperience,
the worry over what his reaction might be when he found out she was a virgin.
The only thing that mattered at that very moment was getting him inside her as
quickly as possible. At that point in time, no logic, no reasons about why
doing this with him might not be a good idea, mattered. She wanted him, and she
intended to have him. For some unexplainable reason this felt right. He felt
right.

“Yes!
Yes! Do it, Aldin.”

A
brief flare of panic surged through her veins when she felt his thick cock at
her opening, but was quickly replaced by a sharp pain that brought tears to her
eyes when he thrust his hips upwards and buried his impressive length to the
hilt. She’d been wrong. He did fit…barely. He stilled when she cried out. He
filled her to the point that she thought he’d rip her apart, but through the
haze of discomfort, a small voice whispered that things were as they should be.

Before
she could say anything, Aldin retreated. Even though the discomfort continued
to throb between her thighs, she wanted to cry out from the loss of his flesh
inside her.

“Son
of a bitch! What the fuck are you playing at?”

Wilhemina
yanked her skirt down and turned to find Aldin pacing back and forth from one
side of the room to the other like a caged animal.

“I
know I should have told you, but—”

He
spun around and loomed over her. She gripped the edge of the table and leaned
away from him, but those damned turquoise eyes were beautiful even while
burning with anger.

“I
don’t sleep with virgins. Do you have any idea what kind of danger you could
have put yourself in tonight? For Christ’s sake, Wilhemina. You haven’t a clue
as to what kind of man I am. I’m not the type of lover suited for a virgin. I’m
not gentle. I could have hurt you. Hell. I
did
hurt you.”

She
jumped when he spun around, punched the wall, and cursed.

“I
didn’t do anything wrong,” she whispered.

“You
didn’t do anything wrong? Seriously? Why in the hell would you come to a club
and agree to sleep with a complete stranger?
 
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in equality between men and women. You are
as welcome to sleep with whomever you choose as am I, but you’re a virgin.”

“Was
a virgin.” She let out a small squeak of nervous laughter.

By
the way his lips thinned into straight lines, she could tell he was not amused.
He rubbed at his stubbled jaw, and a tic started under his eye.

 
“I don’t find wise-ass cracks appropriate at
this moment in time.”

“Sorry.
I’m just nervous as hell right now. You are just a tad bit intimidating.” She
held her thumb and index finger close together in the air as if to put emphasis
on tad bit and to make sure he understood it was laced with a fair bit of
sarcasm on her end.

“I’m
sorry.” He blew out a long breath and scrubbed his hand over his face.

“I
didn’t mean to mislead you.” She sighed in resignation. “I saw you. I thought
you were gorgeous. When you came over and talked to me, I liked you. And when
we danced, well, to be completely truthful, I was turned on more than I have
been by any man in my entire life. I wanted you, and I was flattered that you
paid attention to someone like me. I let my hormones talk me out of telling you
I was a virgin.”

“What
do you mean
someone like you
?” His
brows drew down and he frowned.

 
“Look at you.” She laughed. “You are the
sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I’m not exactly a model. I was
flattered, and I wasn’t in the least bit upset about the prospect of sleeping
with you.”

“You
have to know that you are beautiful, Wilhemina. Don’t cut yourself short. Any
man out there would have been happy to take your virginity.”

“Any
man but you,” she said quietly.

“Any
man but me.” He groaned. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m flattered, but I’m not
the kind of man to waste your innocence on.”

“I’m
sorry. Please think no more of this.” She hopped off the table and smoothed her
skirt back over her legs. When she started for the door, he gently circled her
arm with his fingers.

“Thank
you. I’m honored for your gift. I wish I hadn’t hurt you.” He kissed her cheek.

She
hurried out of the door, through the club, and across the parking lot to her
car. She climbed in behind the wheel before finally allowing herself to cry. No
matter what he said, no matter that things didn’t quite end how she’d
envisioned, she would never regret her encounter with Aldin. She wiped her
cheeks, started the engine, put the car in drive, and headed for Plainview.

Uriah
clenched and unclenched his fists.

“What
do you want, Mother?” He sneered.

The
hatred that burned in her son’s eyes when they gazed upon her made her want to
drop to her knees and beg for his forgiveness. She’d slowly watched any love
he’d ever held for her die, and now that she’d finally come to set things
right, she feared it was too late. How could he forgive her for what she’d done
to him?

Marilena
walked to him and laid her hand gently on his broad back. He was perfect in
every way, just as all her sons were. Her daughter had been as well, but she
had to squash all memories of Estril from her mind in order to handle the pain
of her death. If she allowed herself to think about Estril for too long, the
agony would pull her into a dark place that had the ability to suck the will to
live right out of her.

Uriah
tensed at her touch as he always did. He was her youngest baby. She barely hid
a snort. A baby he was not. He was an impressive man with the trademark
Aleksandrov turquoise eyes, strong jaw, and perfectly sculpted frame.

However,
Uriah was the only brother who resembled his father. His coppery-brown hair,
even his smile, which she hadn’t seen for years, mirrored his father’s. . Maybe
that was the reason it caused her much grief to look upon Uriah, other than the
fact she’d kept him prisoner and had wronged him in countless ways. Aldin,
Ashe, Aiston, even Estril, had all taken on more of Marilena’s features with
the exception of Aiston’s blonde hair. She’d never understood where that had
come from.

She
cleared her throat and fought back tears as the memories of everything she’d
lost, everything she would most likely still lose, threatened to overwhelm her.

“I
need to speak to you, son.” She took a step back and linked her hands behind
her back to conceal the nervous fidgeting of her fingers.

“I
have nothing to say to you.” His words were clipped and hinted at anger.

She
sighed. She couldn’t fault him for his ire. She’d done this to him. She’d made
him hate her. Now she had to do what was right, had no further choice in the
matter.

“I
know you are angry with me, Uriah, but if you will—”

He
spun on her so fast she gasped.

“Angry?”
His teeth snapped together. “Anger does not begin to cover the riotous swirling
of vehement emotions I have where you are concerned. Fury, rage, indignation
are better terms for what I feel when I’m around you.”

“I
get it, but I have to talk to you.”

“No.
You don’t
get it
. That’s the problem.
You do not get what it is like to be kept prisoner by the one person who is
supposed to love you most in the world.”

“I do
love you.”

He
snorted loudly in disgust before cracking his knuckles as he so often did when
annoyed. She’d grown accustomed to that sound for it never ceased when she was
in his presence.

“I
have come to set things right, or as right as I can at this point in time.” She
watched as his turquoise eyes sized her up, trying to calculate what she was up
to.

“The
only way you can set things right is by freeing me. Somehow, I doubt that’s
going to happen. I wonder why?” He cracked his knuckles again. “Oh, yes. I
remember. It’s because you’ve held me prisoner for more years than I can count.
Your own son!”

“I am
going to set you free.”

His
cheeks flushed bright red and his eyes glistened coal black. She hated that the
anger he held for her was strong enough to invite the onyx to bleed over the
lovely turquoise color.

“Don’t fuck with me, Mother. I’ve grown tired of being
chivalrous and have seriously begun to entertain the idea of breaking your
damned neck.”

Pain
tore through her chest. Did her own son truly hate her enough that he could
kill her? The thought that he might actually be capable of trying made her
shiver with despair of the situation she’d caused.

“I’m
going to set you free.”

He
threw his hands up in the air and let them fall with a smack at his sides.
“Goody. I’ll go pack and you can let me out of my magically imprisoned kingdom.”

“Wait!”

“Yeah.
I knew there would be a catch. Always is with you, isn’t there, Mother?” He
sneered at her again.